Francesco Bagnaia Roars Back in Sachsenring Warm-Up After Sprint Setback to Jorge Martin

Francesco Bagnaia rebounds in Sachsenring MotoGP warm-up

After losing to Jorge Martin in the Sprint, Francesco Bagnaia reclaimed the top spot during the warm-up for the German MotoGP.

After being outmaneuvered by Jorge Martin’s more strategic approach in the Sprint race on Saturday, current titleholder Francesco Bagnaia responded by dominating the morning warm-up session for the German MotoGP.

As expected, the temperatures have dropped significantly compared to Saturday, but it remained bright and sunny during the ten-minute warm-up.

Although Bagnaia initially took the lead, his cautious strategy to preserve tyre wear caused him to be overtaken by Martin and Miguel Oliveira early in the Sprint.

Bagnaia was unable to take advantage of preserving his rear tire in the final laps because his front tire overheated while trailing behind Martin and Oliveira in turbulent air. Consequently, the Italian rider stayed in third position, concluding his sequence of five consecutive victories.

Martin's win helped the Pramac rider extend his championship lead to 15 points as they approach today's grand prix, the final race before the MotoGP summer hiatus.

A majority of the racers are anticipated to transition from using the soft rear tire in the Sprint to a medium rear tire for the 30-lap grand prix taking place this afternoon.

Considering this, everyone except Johann Zarco and Stefan Bradl opted for the medium rear tire earlier today. Bagnaia reserved his top performance for his last lap, clocking in at 1m 20.638s on his eighth and final round.

This positioned the world champion a mere 0.080 seconds ahead of Franco Morbidelli from the Pramac team, who secured fifth place in the Sprint, with the Spanish rider closely trailing in third at +0.164 seconds.

Following Saturday’s critical initial laps, anticipate fierce competition to break into the lead quickly and steer clear of high front tire pressures later today.

Marc Marquez, feeling some discomfort, switched between his two Gresini bikes early in the session and managed to secure fourth place, just ahead of his brother and team-mate, Alex.

Marquez, beginning in 13th position while dealing with a fractured left finger and bruised ribs from his highside crash on Friday, faces a tough challenge to secure his 12th victory at Sachsenring today.

Marquez mentioned after the warm-up that he feels improved compared to the previous day and has a bit more freedom on his bike, but acknowledged that beginning the race from 13th position will be challenging.

"I'll attempt to pass other riders gradually and observe how far we can get. What matters most is that my ribs are significantly improved today."

"It’s going to be incredibly difficult to secure a spot on the podium, but we’ll have to wait and see…"

This morning, Maverick Vinales, who sustained significant injuries and narrowly missed out on sixth place to Marquez in a photo finish yesterday, posted the twelfth fastest time.

Explore Further

Breaking News

Current Updates

Site Navigation

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce text, photographs, or illustrations, whether in whole or in part, in any manner.